


Pyro

by grovestep



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Deadlock Gang, Gen, Pyromania, Reworking Ashe's backstory to something I can stand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 17:40:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18077975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grovestep/pseuds/grovestep
Summary: Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe hated a lot of things; like ballroom gowns, business luncheons, and yacht parties. But most of all, she hated Jesse McCree.--Ashe finds her true calling in a rush of flames.





	Pyro

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Rebels at Heart zine!

Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe hated a lot of things; like ballroom gowns, business luncheons, and yacht parties. But most of all, she hated Jesse McCree. All of these things had one thing in common: they grated on her nerves and pushed her to the limit. If it weren’t for Bob’s calming presence, she would have jumped overboard by now--literally and figuratively. 

When she wasn’t cooped up in the mansion, she was out doing the one thing she did best: wreaking havoc. If there was one thing Ashe loved, it was watching the world burn. She found her true calling when her mother took her shopping. Though she had the money to buy anything she wanted, she felt a thrill when her hands wandered over expensive items and slipped them into her purse when nobody was watching. She felt a rush of adrenaline leaving the store. Ashe would ride that high for days, feeling the best she ever had. 

Her penchant for stealing transformed into something more dangerous. As a teenager, she picked up smoking. Her parents didn’t notice, but Bob did. He would brood at her silently as she lit up a cigarette and sat on her windowsill, flicking the ashes down at the expensive topiary. One day, one of those ashes happened to catch on the dry branches underneath the bushes. The sculpted topiary lion went up into beautiful flames. Ashe was in love. 

She spent many of her nights setting fire to dumpsters. When she first started, she would flee immediately after starting the blaze. As time went on, she’d stay longer and longer. Ashe would sit and watch the fire burn itself out. She loved the orange light, the warmth, the dancing shadows it cast. She would stay right up until the flashing blue and red lights of the police bounced off the alley walls. 

It was in one of these instances that she met Jesse McCree.

In Ashe’s humble opinion, it was one of the best fires she had ever set. Something in the dumpster happened to stoke the flame _just right_. The blaze roared to life, reaching heights she had never experienced before. For a brief moment, she worried that it might set the building behind it on fire. Then suddenly-- 

“Hey there, darlin’.”

Ashe felt her soul leave her body. 

A young man stepped out from the shadows of the back alley. Ashe had no idea where he had come from or how long he had been there. She looked down at the lighter in her hand, then up at the fire she had so obviously set. Before he could say another word, Ashe took off running.

She had so much as reached the end of the alley when she felt a presence behind her.

A calloused hand gripping her arm.

A strong force pulling her back into the shadows.

“Get your dirty paws off me,” she bit out through clenched teeth, elbowing the man in the stomach. He didn’t flinch. Ashe looked up at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was focused somewhere else, somewhere Ashe couldn’t turn to see because his grip was iron around her arms. “What the hell are you looking at? _I said let go of me!_ ”

“Shut up, will ya? Do you wanna get caught?” the man said in a rushed whisper. The sound of voices approaching made Ashe panic. It took all of her willpower not to break free and take off running. Three cops walked right by their hiding place, not bothering to look into the shadows. 

“Another one? That’s the fourth time this month,” one of the cops said as he looked at the dumpster fire. 

“Looks like we have a serial arsonist,” another said.

“So long as they aren’t burning down houses, right? Call in the fire boys, there’s nothing else to do here.”

As the cops chattered away, the man tugged at Ashe’s arm. He beckoned for her to follow, pressing one finger to his lips. They slipped out of the alleyway through a gap in the fence Ashe had never noticed before. When they were well away from the scene, Ashe let the floodgate of emotions go, and to her surprise, so did the stranger. 

“What the _hell_ did you think you were doing back there?” He demanded. 

“ _Me?_ I should ask you that! Who taught you your manners? Grabbing a lady like that. It’s not proper. Were you raised in a barn?”

The man sneered, “Lady? I don’t see no lady. All I see is some rich chick gettin’ her rocks off on settin’ fires.”

“I’m not just “some rich chick.” My name is Ashe and I do more than set fires,” she said with a scowl. 

“Really? Well, Ashe, my name’s McCree. Jesse McCree. I’m sure you’ll find that I do more than rescue damsels in distress like yourself, too.”

Ashe clenched her teeth to keep from saying something nasty. She didn’t care if this “McCree” saved her ass from being put in jail. There was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. The set of his jaw and the look in his eye made her want to punch him. Before she knew what she was doing, she said, “I can prove it.”

Jesse let out a choked laugh, “Yea, sure you can. An’ pigs can fly.”

The overwhelming urge to prove herself, to show her merit, rose up in her very being. It replaced all feelings of panic, adrenaline, and anger. She looked at Jesse with earnest. He seemed taken aback by the fire that was struck within her. He let out another laugh through his nose, “Alright, you can prove it, but I ain’t savin’ your ass this time,” he said. He looked up at the brightening sky, “But for now, we better part ways. Meet me back here tomorrow night,” he said.

Just like he came into her life, he was gone with the blink of an eye. Ashe was left feeling nauseous at the realization of what she had agreed to do. 

—

Ashe leaned against a wall smoking a cigarette. She tried to act casual, but couldn’t help her shaking hands or shifty gaze. A calloused hand grabbed her shoulder and she jumped, dropping her cigarette on the ground. She looked up at Jesse with a gaze that could start fires. 

“Try not to look so guilty. I could tell you were up to no good a mile away,” Jesse said, picking up her cigarette and putting it in his mouth. His face twisted in disgust and he threw it over his shoulder, spitting on the ground. “Shoulda known you smoked cloves.”

Ashe smirked, “Well?”

“Well, what? You’re the one that’s supposed to prove yourself. What’re you gonna do? Steal a purse from one of those high-end stores? Bust a window?” Jesse said, then leaned in closer, “Fall in love with a dashing cowboy?” 

Ashe pressed her open palm against Jesse’s face and pushed him away. He stumbled backwards, catching his balance last second before falling on his ass. Ashe inclined her chin and looked down at Jesse with a glare he could only describe as pure evil, “Listen here, cowboy. I’m calling the shots. You’re just along for the ride. Watch and learn.” 

Ashe turned on her heel and walked away. She smirked when she heard Jesse follow.

_Just like a dog on a leash_ , she thought.

Ashe lead Jesse down the sidewalk. She had thought long and hard about what she was going to do. She didn’t want to get caught, and if she did, she didn’t want the bail to be astronomical. Her parents could barely care about her in the first place, but if she cost them thousands of dollars in bail, well...Ashe reckoned they’d start to care right quick. 

They stopped in front of a dilapidated house. Jesse raised an eyebrow at her, but Ashe was too busy digging through her bag to notice. She pulled out a bottle stuffed with a rag and a lighter. Jesse’s lips twitched in an attempt to not burst into laughter. 

“Hey darlin’, I thought you said you did more than light fires?” he asked.

Ashe didn’t say a word. Instead, she flicked her lighter to life, touching the flame to the rag. She turned to Jesse and smiled. The fire cast her face in shadow and light, highlighting that maniacal grin and blazing eyes. It sent shivers down Jesse’s spine. She threw the bottle at the dead bushes in front of the house. 

Jesse would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little scared and a little turned on. While Ashe didn’t prove she could do other things, he had to admit this was pretty badass. The flames lapped at the old, abandoned house, easily catching on the rotted wood. They stood there together watching the fire rise and engulf whatever it touched. 

Jesse reached out to touch Ashe’s arm. She jerked away, taking her eyes off her masterpiece to glare daggers at him. “Don’t get any ideas, cowboy,” she said. Jesse smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. 

Just as they decided to leave, the cops descended on them. This time, they didn’t use their lights. One moment Ashe and Jesse were alone and the next they were surrounded by officers. Jesse looked like a trapped animal, ready to lash out and bite anyone who approached him. Ashe heard him mumble something about “not going back there.”

Ashe was serene. The fire she had set roared behind her as they put her in handcuffs. She closed her eyes and revelled in the heat and the smell of smoke. Once that feeling took hold, it wouldn’t let her go again.


End file.
